Deep, Dark Magic
by ashangel101010
Summary: Set after "The Gifts of Destiny" episode. Flora decides to take a stroll in the woods on Halloween night, but runs into trouble. Fortunately, Anagan just happens to be there to save her.


Deep, Dark Magic

Suggested Theme:

Main Theme- Black Flowers Please by Current 93

It is Halloween night when the Earth children dress up as seemingly imaginary creatures and beg for candy, but it is also the night that Flora slips out of the apartment to take a walk in the woods that surround Gardenia. The girls were dressing up the pets for the holiday and giving away treats to customers and trick-or-treaters alike. It was such a nice distraction from trying to figure out a way to convince Morgana and her Fairies of Vengeance to give up their revenge. It is completely understandable why they would go after the Wizards of the Black Circle, but humanity does not deserve their wrath! Needless to say, it was very stressful on the Winx Club and Roxy, especially after Diana's attack. Even though Diana gave up her revenge, it did not lessen the stress the Winx has endured. They still have to contend with the rest of the Major Fairies and Earth Fairies. Tonight, however, is a break from all their troubles. In particular, Flora has decided to sate her curiosity about Gardenia's forest. Before, she just didn't have the time to explore the forest and would settle with a stroll in Gardenia Park. Now, she will be able to see an Earth forest at night without any interference!

She has also decided to dust off a "costume" since she just wants to observe the flora at a superficial level. She is in her Winx form, her first and weakest magical form. She cannot hear the forest breathing or groaning as strongly as she can in her Believix form, but she can still hear small whispers from the plants. She feels nostalgic in her pink dress with pink boots and small wings. It was three or maybe four years ago that Flora arrived at Alfea and began her life. Those early days make Flora smile as she walks into the forest of autumn leaves and leering branches. She can barely detect the heaviness of the forest's air. If she were in her most powerful form, she would've realized the forest air is mingled with dark magic and seeping into the plants like disease into blood. The moon is out, although half of it is blanketed in darkness, providing Flora with some light and more darkness.

The trees were not whispering about happy things like the sun or water, but it sounds like they were conspiring and jeering. Flora has never heard this from trees before, or even the ones from Gardenia Park. Her breath quickens and she picks up her pace. The deeper she goes into the forest, the more guttural and threatening the whispers become. A branch whips her hair and almost seemingly tries to pull on it. It is then that Flora decides to end her venturing and go home. She turns back and begins to fly. The trees respond by bending and twisting to become a ceiling that prevents Flora from escaping into the nighttime sky. A gnarled, rotting branch lands a painful blow to her back and wings. She falls to the ground and lands on her knees. She almost cries out at feeling the gashes ripping through her skin, but her adrenaline allows her to power through the pain and sprint. She runs, runs, runs, and runs for what feels like hours, while the trees try to grab at her with their clawed branches and forked roots. They hissed a cruel melody in her ears.

"_Oh when I saw you standing there_

_Wild flowers dying in your hair_

_Child of harvest time coughing up must_

_Black flowers' dull perfume trailing in dust_

_Your smile started bleeding and then the mill_

_Shearing and sharing your love and your rage_

_Whilst hawk's head descending,_

_Spewed out a new age"_

Flora screams as she feels another branch strike at her already sour back, this time she feels the sting of dark magic. No wonder she can't fight or reason with these trees! They were being controlled by dark magic, but who would do such a thing? She has no time to think, but continues to run. She cannot transform into Believix because there is too much dark magic in the air and her wounds are draining her energy. Thankfully, she can see the exit and runs with tears of joy. But then, she sees the trees' shadows come out of the ground and turn into Pixies. These Pixies were not the friendly, sweet, and talkative kind like Chatta. No, these were the kind with disgustingly misshapen heads and razor teeth that haunted her father daily. Yet, those were illusions and these Pixies are horrifyingly real. She tries to turn around and flee the other direction, but a fiendish root trips her up and allows the branches to get a firm grasp on her. The Pixies come closer to her as they finished the cruel lullaby.

"_It isn't very good_

_In the dark, dark wood_

_In the middle of the night_

_Where there isn't any light"_

Flora screams when she feels the Pixies gnawing on her, trying to get to her bones. Her magic is useless against these trees and Pixies in her current form. The branches scratch and scrape her skin, trying to draw out the blood. She screams as high and loud as possible for help. She doesn't want to die on Earth! All she wanted was to explore the woods. Instead, she is going to be rewarded by being bled by trees and gnawed to death by Pixies! She wonders if the girls or Helia will ever find her body. She cries out again at the thought of nothing but her clothes and wings will be all that's left of her. The dark magic suffocates the remaining oxygen in her lungs like a horrible chokehold. She could feel a pair of warm hands on her before mercifully blacking out.

Flora stirs slowly from her sleep. She notices that a cold washcloth is on her head and takes it off. Her thigh is wrapped in bandages and so are her fingers. She looks around and sees that she on a bench in Gardenia Park. She has absolutely no idea how on Earth she got there. One minute, she was being ripped apart by trees and evil Pixies. And the next, she wakes up here. She can also see that she is still in her Winx form amazingly enough, considering the dark magic was sapping her energy. She doesn't bother to get up from the bench and decides to stay still for the next few minutes to catch her breath. The moon is gone and so are the stars at Gardenia Park, leaving only the lampposts to provide light. Her savior steps into the light. She flinches and lets out a groan in response.

"Why did it have to be you?!" Anagan smirks at her ungratefulness, taking a bit of joy in her pain like the sadist that he is.

"I have to admit these wings suit you the most in the sense they represent your knowledge of magic. So very, very tiny." He chastises her like she performed a spell too powerful for herself, like one of the professors at Alfea. Flora grinds her teeth in sharp annoyance.

"You and your 'brothers' are supposed to be gone! What were you doing in the woods!?" Anagan looks almost offended, tempting Flora to hit him.

"We had to get 'gone' the minute Diana targeted the town. I hope by now you realize that by releasing the Earth Fairies, you girls have effectively sealed humanity's fate. Also, if you haven't realized yet it is Halloween night." Flora feels patronized by Anagan insinuating that she didn't know what day it is.

"I know what day it is! Why does that matter?" Anagan puts his hand over his mouth like he is preventing himself from laughing and sighing.

"You see all of these kiddies dressed up as?" Flora rolls her eyes at Anagan's cop out of an answer.

"They dress up as monsters, witches, pirates, vampires, werewolves, dragons, and other mystical creatures that they don't believe are real." Most of the humans believe in Fairies, but are somehow still skeptical of other magical creatures.

"This is the one night of the year that magical creatures on Earth, specifically those who wield dark magic, that they can come out and do whatever they want without cleaning up their mess. The planet is blanketed in dark magic, touching everything. Even a place as small as Gardenia has dark magic as you've experienced. That's why not even the Earth Fairies are out and hunting me and my brothers tonight." Anagan sounds so happy of having a night off from being hunted. I wonder if he now knows what his victims felt. Probably not. Flora thought.

"Why were you in the woods? You could've done whatever you wanted tonight and perhaps get away with it like you claimed." Flora finds it very suspicious that Anagan would just be happen taking a walk in the woods when he came across her in distress. It just seems too coincidental.

"I was tired of being cooped up in the sewers, listening to my little brother in pain. I wanted fresh air, room to stretch my legs. I decided to go into the forest because Gardenia Park was crawling with happy families. I heard you screaming and I was surprised that you would actually come out tonight, especially in such a weak, but still very attractive, form. Didn't Alfea teach you anything about holidays that dark magic users thrive on?" Flora doesn't say anything, which causes Anagan to frown in annoyance.

"Unbelievable. I thought Alfea had enough standards to teach you young Fairies something other than trying to gain the next power-up! I get this not-so strange feeling that you girls might have to go back to school. I really hope it's just because of your youth." Flora did not strike or yell at him like most people would have. Instead, she laughs at him like told the funniest joke in the universe. She laughs until her ribs ache, while Anagan stood dumbfounded.

"You sound exactly, ha-ha, like an old man!" She would've used "father", but Anagan is nothing like her father. Anagan gazes thoughtfully at Flora.

"I am more than a millennia old, so I act my age sometimes. But that's beside the point. I made you laugh and I wasn't even trying to flirt with you." Now, Anagan is laughing. They both laugh together.

"I need to get back to the girls or they'll believe something terrible has happened to me." Flora tries to stand up from the bench and almost falls to the ground. Luckily, Anagan catches her like a rose.

"I can escort you until we're a block away from your apartment. Would you mind if I carried you there?" Considering how she can barely walk, of course Flora would accept. Yet, she is accepting for an entirely different reason.

"No, I would not." She accepted his help with a smile gracing her camilla pink lips. He hoists her up into his arms and carries her out of Gardenia Park. The moon comes back out from darkness and lights the way for the pair. He made her laugh tonight, which is why she put aside her animosity for now. By tomorrow, they will return to their worlds without ever speaking about this Halloween night. Yet, they will both laugh about it in the morning like they did together.


End file.
